Day Six - DHS and Epcot
I can't remember what we did for breakfast that day (consulting Outlook tells me Captain Cook's/Room Service/Kona Stand). So maybe we got room service again. I don't recall getting room service so much though. It bums me out that I can't remember now.
At any rate, we opted to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios because of EMM hours. We made it for rope drop and got to stand there for awhile, as they got the crowd excited. We always stand to the left so we can run around people to get to the Rock n' Roller Coaster, so we were on the left side.
When the rope dropped, I was very confused as everyone ran forward instead of turning right.
This, of course, helped our mission, so we really didn't need to run. We apparently hadn't caught on that Toy Story Mania was THE hoppin' place in town, and the Tower of Terror/Rock n' Roller Coaster area was... so 2007.
Which meant Rob was really happy, and my stomach was turning.
Several of you know that I have a love/hate relationship with the Rock n' Roller coaster. I love the loopies (if you're riding with me, you'll hear me yell out LOOOOOOOOOOOOOPIES! throughout the ride), but I hate the take-off. It sometimes ruins the ride for me, depending on where we're sitting and if I've pulled the restraints down hard enough (note to self: the more uncomfortable it feels, the safer I will be and won't bounce all over the car).
I am not a roller coaster fan (which is why I like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). I love rides that go in circles or go sideways. Loops, to me, feel like I'm going sideways, so they don't bother me.
Drops, to me, are like being engaged in a trust fall that never stops and involves no trust. (For reference, to have this make sense, I
hate doing trust falls. Jennifer has major trust issues.)
I have a different experience every time I ride this, so I dread getting on it. I get nauseated and even can get a migraine just from my blood pressure jumping so quickly while waiting in line.
I used to love it, but the refurbishment, in my opinion, ruined it for me. It looks all cheesy/black-light-y, and I swear there's a loop missing. I distinctly remember three loops, and now there are only two. I could be wrong. If I am wrong, then the loops were previously longer or more... loopy. At any rate, it's not the same.
I also hate sitting through the intro, because all I keep thinking is, Yes, we need a bigger limo, let's get this done before I throw up!
Ultimately, I go on it every time Rob asks me to (then again, I go on Everest every time, and I don't like it), and I do enjoy myself if I can just get past that first part.
So when he asked me if we could go on it again after the first time, I went. The added complexity of what to do with our hats was upsetting to me too. I was convinced my hat was going to fall out as we were going upside down. Rob worked so hard on it (so hard that we're bringing our hats again tomorrow) that I don't want to lose it. It's actually sitting on display in our living room because I love it so much.
No story to tell, though (sorry!). We rode it twice, I didn't lose the hat. Actually, there is a story. For the first time ever, I forced myself to keep my eyes open at the beginning, even though I can't stand the bright light.
As a result, we got this:
You can't really tell, but my eyes are WIDE open. Like, scary wide open. Serial killer wide open. And that smile? Completely forced.
Oh, I'm a barrel of laughs!
After we finished our second trip, we went to Toy Story Mania. Or rather, we wandered around the park FOREVER, trying to find it. Doing a really piss poor job (why is it so hard to find anything in that park?).
We had to ask a wise guy for directions, and he gave us all sorts of flak for asking for directions. I HATE asking for directions anyway, so when I get told no, I meekly will walk away with my tail between my legs.
He did give them to us eventually, but I felt stupid. (Jennifer is also a wilting flower.)
When we got there, I walked in through the FastPass line and got yelled at.
I'm sorry, but there is no clear way to tell where you're walking in. The FastPass line is normally split up so that the entrances are on two different sides, or it's clearly marked. It wasn't clearly marked (the next day, I did the same exact thing).
The wait time was listed as forty minutes, which generally causes me to walk away from a ride (I'm such a line snob), but we knew this was probably a good thing and got in line.
Honestly, this is the first time I had to wait in a line where I was utterly intrigued (okay, Space Mountain did that for me in 2000). I took pictures of *everything* (I'm going to spare you that, especially since the pictures get cropped here... but if you want to look, go
here.
It was like being in my childhood (except not in my childhood because I really didn't have any of these things... but I played with them a bit in preschool). The life size aspect of it was just amazing. It blew my mind. So I loved looking at everything, studying every detail.
I really liked the ride, but needless to say (for those who have been on it), my fingers hurt afterward!). I also don't like losing, and I always lose to Rob. But I had better accuracy!
We spent so much time in line, and the FastPasses were for around the time of our lunch reservation at Le Cellier, so we decided we would come back again another day.
We stopped at some of the stores (I think this is when we got a Dory cookie... god those things are good!), and then we decided to take the boat to Epcot, since we had never done it before.
This was about the time I got an email from TV Guide that Paul Newman died. Sad how you can't remember what you had for breakfast, but you remember something like that. It didn't say how he died, but when I told Rob, two guys waiting in line in front of us looked it up on their phones (which had better, faster internet apparently) and told us. They were both shocked when I said it (as shocked as I was, I imagine).
The boatride was not the most time efficient method of transportation. There were several times I thought maybe we should just get out and walk. Stopping at each of the Epcot/water resorts and the Boardwalk seemed... silly. But, no, I *forced* myself to enjoy it.
Rob and I are goobers, so we are big fans of The Land. It would have never occurred to me that I would be, since I used to be a big astronomy buff, but Future World doesn't have enough... informational space-y stuff to hold my interest. Our favorite ride is Living with the Land (we love the Behind the Seeds tour), so we had to stop by there... and I as I mentioned before, I love looking at the Sunshine Seasons pastries. Stop giving us big cookies, and give me a fruity tart! Munch!
(That's the bad thing about being allergic to chocolate... a lot of the free desserts Disney gives are at least partially chocolate... and how do you turn it down if it's free?)
Someone saw us trying to take that picture and offered to help.
I think he missed that we were trying to get us in front of the sign.
We rode our ride and then headed to lunch at Le Cellier.
Who should we meet but our old server, Joel (Joe-el)! He remembered us, so it was like seeing an old friend.
I loved Rob's smoothie the last time, so I opted to get it this time.
Rob got a vanilla milkshake. Which I drank as well.
Token breadstick shot.
Rob got the spicy sausage appetizer.
I didn't want an appetizer, but Joel talked me into getting the tomato stack. You're right, Joel, it wasn't all that bad.
I got the filet mignon again (big surprise).
I also ordered a side of mac and cheese, because I heard it was good.
Rob's lunch:
As you've heard (and know if you've done it), the dining plan makes you feel obligated to get dessert. We were both full, but I insisted... so we shared the s'mores. Very, very interesting... to look at AND to eat.
Since Joel had become part of the "Kinnote" clan, we asked if we could get a picture of him. A fellow cast member tried to take the picture, but had trouble and kept putting her finger in front of the lens.
However, she did manage to catch one of the most interesting photos possibly in Disney history... I do believe Walt might have been present... or at least sent Mickey along to watch...
There's definitely a ghost image in there... see it?
A much better (less haunted) shot of the three of us.
We were sad to say good-bye to Jo-el. We kinda hope to see him during the trip. We're not sure if his time is up, though... it was ending around the end of January.
I would probably do the same thing for Buzz or Pirates though if I had the chance! 
